Sony Promises PlayStation Store Back this Week

Finally. The PlayStation Store should be back this week—one month after the PlayStation Network was hacked and shuttered—along with anything else still missing in action, says Sony. A press releasedropped through the official PlayStation blog Monday signaled the online service’s return to full health by June 5th in the Americas, Europe, and Asia, though excluding Japan, Hong Kong, and South Korea.

Qriocity members can expect all remaining media streaming services to return this week as well.

Online gaming’s been back more or less since May 15th. Sony’s list of services resurrecting this week includes “full functionality on PlayStation Store,” “in-game commerce,” “[the] ability to redeem vouchers and codes,” “full functionality on Music Unlimited powered by Qriocity for PS3, PSP, VAIO and other PCs,” and “full functionality on Media Go.”

Is it safe to go back in the water? It’ll never feel as safe as it did prior to mid-April, but Sony says it’s safe enough.

“We have been conducting additional testing and further security verification of our commerce functions in order to bring the PlayStation Network completely back online so that our fans can again enjoy the first class entertainment experience they have come to love,” said Sony executive deputy president Kazuo Hirai in a statement. “We appreciate the patience and support shown during this time.”

The company had been aiming for service resumption by the end of May, but made no promises. They’re also still battling hack attacks on other company services, but short of a few planned service outages, the PSN remains up and unscathed. Next up: Sony’s “Welcome Back” package designed for PSN members as restitution for time lost. The company says it’ll promulgate final by-region details shortly.

Now it’s wait-and-see. Sony needs to convince us the new security measures render the service all but bulletproof. Doing that requires a certain measure of transparency, by which I mean divulging hack attack details, especially where the company manages to fend off hackers without service interruption. With future attacks inevitable, publicizing victories may become as important as admitting (and swiftly rectifying) losses.